David Silva hailed Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola as a “fantastic human” for the understanding he showed in allowing the midfielder to take time off last season following the premature birth of his son.
Silva missed several City matches around the turn of the year in order to travel home to spend time with family after his new-born son Mateo fell seriously ill.
Although it was a difficult moment in his life, Silva was given the freedom to do whatever he felt he needed to by Guardiola, missing some key matches as a result.
And, according to Silva, that understanding shows the kind of person Guardiola is.
“That’s the way he has always been. He has made a lot of big favours to me. I will always appreciate his help.
“He is more than a manager to me, he is a fantastic human being, not only because people have seen what he has done for me. He’s a fantastic person.
“When you have family and football in the same balance, sometimes you have to prioritise the family and Guardiola understood that very well.
“I am going to continue performing the same as I have been doing all this time. I give 100 per cent.”
After the initial worries, Mateo is now doing better, but Silva acknowledges it was the most difficult period of his life.
“They were very hard times, the toughest months of my life,” he added.
“It was the fear of the unknown. Everything was okay, but they said in a week’s time they didn’t know. It scared me to death.
“When you are travelling abroad to see your family, you can’t be 100 per cent concentrated on your job or profession with a problem like this. The travelling to and from Spain was a very difficult time.
“Mateo is very good at the moment and thank God everything is okay now.
“I have to keep an eye on him all the time. The doctors are doing different tests, but fingers crossed everything is okay. I am very happy and I will be 100 per cent ready for the new season.”
Silva started the 2017–18 season with yet another display of finesse, providing eight Premier League assists in 14 appearances, which was the highest total for any player in Europe’s top five leagues. On 30 November 2017, Silva signed a one-year contract extension with Manchester City keeping him at the club until 2020. He also scored in the 2018 EFL Cup Final against Arsenal F.C.. For his contributions, Silva was nominated for the PFA Player of the year as City won the Premier League. Silva finished the season with 10 goals and 13 assists across all competitions